Letter 6002: The greatest joy of all is a letter-carrier who turns up at just the right moment — one who, as a servant of...

Ennodius to Faustus. The greatest joy of all is a letter-carrier who turns up at just the right moment — one who, as a servant of another's devotion, lends his own necessities to the service of someone else's desires. This man is commended by his integrity, and a modesty foreign to the merchant's trade speaks well for him. It helps that his acquaintance with Your Eminence has become a credential of his honesty, for I was nourished by the fruits of a venerable letter that came by his hand. And so I return what was deposited with me, bound by the law of courtesy, and the man I received in Liguria with such help as my modest means allowed, I now send onward — with this letter as his escort — to a more powerful patronage. For the rest, I offer Your Reverence whatever tribute my humility can muster, begging only that I may at last deserve your letters in return for the constancy of mine.

II. ENNODIVS FAVSTO. Summa gaudiorum est opportunitas perlatoris, qui minister diligentiae per necessitates suas desideriis obsequiam praestat alienis. hunc quidem honestas commendat et peregrinus ab officio mercatoris pudor insinuat. iungitur quod notitia culminis uestri ad fidem probitatis accessit. nam scriptionis uenerandae frugibus ipso commeante satiatus sum. refundo ergo depositum officii lege constrictus et quem in Liguria positum pro uirium mediocritate suscepi ad potissima patrocinia tabella prosequente trasmitto. quod superest, reuerentiae uestrae quicquid habet humilitas deuotionis offerimus, supplicans, ut litteras uestras uel pro mearum adsiduitate iam merear.